Disclaimer;
I don't work for, or get paid by any of these people.
I'm not a super-duper, high-speed, low-drag, operator. I'm a fat, middle-aged guy who likes weapons training.
My opinion is worth exactly as much as you're paying for it.
I took the FAST Carbine class at The Site in Mt Carroll, IL last year.
http://thesitetraini...om/fast-carbine
It is a two day course focused exclusively on self-defense with a tactical carbine. Everybody in the class had an AR15 but they can train you with whatever you bring.
The Class Focus: This is a beginners level course. most shooters had no prior training and just a little informal practice.
The shooting focused primarily on self defense between 15 yards and kissing distance. The sort of shooting you would expect to be doing if you had to defend your house while inside your house.
Bringing the gun up from the low-ready, rapid fire, shooting while moving, emergency reloads, tactical reloads, multiple targets, all of these things were covered on the first day.
The second day was more of the same but with longer distances thrown in. Turning to face the target from 25 and 50 yards. eventually we ended shooting prone from 200 yards but that was more of an after thought than the focus of the class.
My Opinion: As someone who has never been trained on how to get the most out of my AR I really liked the class. Class size is kept small so there is plenty of personal instruction as needed. Would I take the class again? Yes. In fact I will take the class again this year.
The Facilities: If you choose to stay at the on site lodge then life is so much easier. The lodge is dedicated to the range so there are no conflicts in the schedule. They also don't mind you whipping out an assault rifle and cleaning it on the back deck.
The range itself is well maintained and easy to use parking is kinda laze-faire because it's a private range we can do what we like.
What You Should Know: If you are going to take the class then the most important thing to know is they use iron sights only.
THIS CLASS IS IRON SIGHTS ONLY!!! BRING IRON SIGHTS ON YOUR RIFLE!!
They don't say that on the website and they should.
Luckily everybody had BUIS on their gun so it wasn't an issue. By the second day we all took the optic off our rifles.
Elbow pads. Cause' the rocks are sharp.
Notebook. There is a classroom portion at the beginning of each day.
Spare parts. You can bring a whole other rifle since you just drive your car everywhere weight isn't an issue.
So that's it. ask any questions you like.